Subject: (urth) Baldanders, Acies Castle & the Citadel
Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2003 14:55:19 +1000
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Very tangentially ... One of the things which makes me a gushing GW =
fan-boy is the realistic depth to his worlds, despite all the fantasy =
elements. A small example: I see a natural progression from Baldander's =
castle, to Acies Castle at Thrax, to the Citadel (or maybe all of =
Nessus).=20
In each case, these correspond in purpose to castles historically: not =
so much to guard against foreign enemies, as to keep a local population =
in subjugation. (See the afterword to Lictor, talking about Acies; and =
Jonas' half-finished story presumably about the wall of Nessus in =
Torturer).=20
And the Diturna-Thrax-Nessus progression also corresponds to the =
development of power and nobility common in history: a local brigand =
establishes his power over a district with a rough fortification; in =
time his rule becomes established over a wider area and rooted in some =
kind of noble tradition; once empires form, the most successful brigand =
gets to rule everything, including the now-provincial barons and =
magnates, who become his legates and satraps.
The Romans seemed to have a strong sense of this progression, an =
awareness perhaps that their rulers were really just successful brigands =
underneath all the trappings. When they were able, they would act =
mightily against any brigands who sought to establish themselves in a =
fixed position. Eg: Masada - an entire legion out of a total of only =
about 25 in the whole empire, plus thousands of auiliaries, against a =
small band of weak opponents, for many months.=20
I think this kind of progression was probably explicit in GW's thinking =
about Urth. Baldanders could have become the new Typhon, with better =
luck.=20
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Very tangentially ... One of the things =
which makes=20
me a gushing GW fan-boy is the realistic depth to his worlds, despite =
all the=20
fantasy elements. A small example: I see a natural progression from =
Baldander's=20
castle, to Acies Castle at Thrax, to the Citadel (or maybe all of =
Nessus).=20
In each case, these correspond in =
purpose to=20
castles historically: not so much to guard against foreign enemies, as =
to keep a=20
local population in subjugation. (See the afterword to Lictor, talking =
about=20
Acies; and Jonas' half-finished story presumably about the wall of =
Nessus=20
in Torturer).
And the Diturna-Thrax-Nessus=20
progression also corresponds to the development of power and=20
nobility common in history: a local brigand establishes his =
power over=20
a district with a rough fortification; in time his rule becomes =
established over=20
a wider area and rooted in some kind of noble tradition; once empires =
form, the=20
most successful brigand gets to rule everything, including the =
now-provincial=20
barons and magnates, who become his legates and satraps.
The Romans seemed to have a strong =
sense of this=20
progression, an awareness perhaps that their rulers were really just =
successful=20
brigands underneath all the trappings. When they were able, they would=20
act mightily against any brigands who sought to establish =
themselves in a=20
fixed position. Eg: Masada - an entire legion out of a total =
of only=20
about 25 in the whole empire, plus thousands of auiliaries, against =
a small=20
band of weak opponents, for many months.
I think this kind of progression was =
probably=20
explicit in GW's thinking about Urth. Baldanders could have become the =
new=20
Typhon, with better luck.
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